Trade unions were meeting on Wednesday morning to decide their next steps in the ongoing Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) dispute.

The meeting included unions Sek, Peo, Deok and Pasydy.

Union officials have said that an extension or escalation of measures is possible.

“It is likely that decisions will be taken that lead to an extension or intensification of measures,” Sek general secretary Andreas Matsas said on Monday.

Matsas also said that, as of Monday, unions had not received any new invitation from the labour minister for a follow-up meeting. Talks were held last week, and unions had expected a second meeting to be arranged.

Unions from the private and public sectors staged a three-hour strike on September 11 calling for employers to return to the full payment of the CoLA.

The CoLA system is a mechanism that adjusts wages in line with inflation, and has been at the centre of negotiations between unions, employers, and the government.

The unions argue it is essential to protect workers’ purchasing power. Employers, however, have expressed concerns about the impact on costs.

While the labour minister has called for CoLA to be paid to all on a sliding scale, employers are reluctant to implement it without a guarantee it won’t hit costs and productivity.